Stewart Hagestad receives an invitation to the Masters with his US Mid-Am victory
Stewart Hagestad won the US Mid-Amateur 3 and 2 over Evan Beck.
USGA
Stewart Hagestad returns to Augusta National.
The 33-year-old punched his ticket to Augusta National with a win at the 42nd US Mid-Amateur Championship held this week at Sleepy Hollow Country Club. He won the 36-hole championship game 3 and 2 over Evan Beck and completed his triumph on the legendary par-3 16th. Space overlooking the Hudson River.
“I’ve been crying since we finished,” Hagestad said. “I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say.”
Hagestad led by 5 points after the first 18 of the 36-hole final and extended the lead to 7 points several times. He was 31 under through 118 holes of match play, with just five bogeys and a double.
The win at Sleepy Hollow is Hagestad’s third U.S. Mid-Am title, tying him with amateur legends Nathan Smith and Jay Sigel for the second-most titles of all time.
“It’s everything I ever dreamed of,” Hagestad said. “As a kid, you dream about competing in USGA events. I still remember my first one in 2008, and the lights were so bright and the course was so long and the course was so hard, and I mean sitting here and looking back and saying I won three USGA championships “That’s unbelievable.”
The victory comes two weeks after Hagestad’s fourth Walker Cup appearance, where he won 2-1-0 at St. Andrews and helped the Americans to a comeback victory over Great Britain and Ireland.
In addition to his third invitation to play in the Masters, Hagestad’s victory brings many other benefits. He is exempt for the next 10 US Mid-Ams, the next two US Amateurs and next summer’s US Open at No. 2 Pinehurst.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Hagestad said. “When I got the invitation to the 2022 Masters, I got it and immediately burst into tears.”
https://golf.com/news/stewart-hagestad-wins-us-mid-am-2023/ Stewart Hagestad receives an invitation to the Masters with his US Mid-Am victory
